Disclaimer: Guess what, I went on eBay and bidded and stuff and now I do own it! Yay! Oh, and I'd also like to tell you that I'm lying!

Author's Note: And the winning choice in my poll is *drum rolls* choice 2, the family dream! Thanks to all of you for voting! But sorry peeps, this is going to be a shorter chapter, but there'll be plenty of longer chapters later. But not too long (it hurts my eyes to read page-long paragraphs) Maybe even a sequel, upon request.

Soft-Spoken: A Jamie Stryder Story

Chapter 4: Dreams Bring Us Together

Jamie POV

"Anna?" I called. I had come to get Anna for breakfast, but seeing how peacefully she slept, I decided to leave her be.

She was still, the only movement the slight rise and fall of her chest as she breathed. Light leaking in from the hallway cast shadows of her long eyelashes onto her cheekbones. I blushed, looking away. It felt somewhat intrusive, watching her sleep like this.

Anna POV

I smiled, pleasantly bemused. I was in a different world, here.

I was sitting on the patio with my parents. Dad was cooking burgers while Mom read one of her sappy romance novels. Our dog Tuna ran around the yard, chasing a butterfly.

I laughed, and remembered when we got Tuna. I had wanted a kitten so badly, but Mom said they only had old cats and puppies. So I got a puppy that day, and named him Tuna, after the kitten we never got.

"I love you guys," I said with a smile.

"We love you too Anna 'heart, soul, and all'," they said in unison, quoting the message in my locket.

I held my head back, enjoying the sun. I wished I could just sit here, forever, basking in the love and sunshine.

I heard a distant call. "Anna?"

My heart skipped a beat. Jamie.

And I realized what I had to do. I couldn't stay here, dreaming forever of what could never be. I had to return to reality. I had to return to Jamie.

My eyelids fluttered open. I rubbed the sleep out of them, propping myself up on my elbows.

I looked over. A selfless, sun-tanned face was grinning right at me. "Good morning, Anna."

I returned the grin. "Good morning, Jamie." I looked up; the morning sun was already high in the sky. "Sorry if you missed breakfast waiting for me."

He continued to grin. "It's okay, it's Saturday, so there's no class today. And there's always food in the kitchen, so don't sweat it."

I was still rubbing my eyes as I said, "Now go, shoo while I get dressed."

"You sure? You look kind of tired there. You can go back to sleep, if you want."

I shook my head. "No, the time for dreaming is over. Have to get back to reality sometime."

He nodded, understanding.

"Now go!" I said, smiling.

He did a mock salute, playing along. "Yes ma'am!" He turned and started to march out.

"Oh, and Jamie?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks."

"For what?"

"For everything. Taking me here, for starters."

"Oh. Anytime Anna, anytime." He smiled his Jamie Smile, and went out into the hallway to wait for me.

I laughed and shook my head. Oh Jamie.

Author's Note: Thanks for reading! I'll try to update as soon as I can. I've been taking a while typing 'cause I keep getting the ctrl key confused with the shift key. But that's probably just because I've been eating chocolate kisses and listening to My Chemical Romance for the past hour. It does stuff to your head, man. And that's what Quinn from Gone would probably say. Wow, my head's way messed up today. Anyway, review please!